Don't Mind Me, I'm Off Napping

I'm here! Here! Really! :) I haven't gone off on another bloggy break, I've just been hit with this overwhelming tiredness. We seem to have some kind of virus thing going around work that hits people with exhaustion and a fever for a couple of days. I haven't had the fever, but DD has. So, anyways, if I can keep my eyes open long enough I'll be back soon to share some of my recent bargains.... if I can stay awake.... zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Juvenile Diabetes... where's our "stuff"?

I'm at a point in dealing with DD's Type I Diabetes where I'm starting to feel energized... starting to want to join a group, walk a walk, raise some funds, educate the world.... something. I'm tired of this disease having control over our lives, and I'm ready to start taking action on a bigger scale.

My online searches for groups, organizations, and research foundations almost all lead back to JDRF. There's nothing wrong with JDRF, (though my local chapter is disappointing), but you'd think there would be other organizations to become involved with outside of some online chat groups.

You know how everywhere you look there are pink ribbons? If you Google "breast cancer graphic", or clip art, or ribbon, you'll get thousands of hits. Tons of free graphics and logos to use. If you Google those same search terms, but for "Juvenile Diabetes" or "Type I Diabetes", you'll get next to nothing. There are some tshirts on Cafepress, and a couple of places sell grey ribbons, which is the general diabetes ribbon. A few sites have grey ribbons with red drops or red hearts on them to signify Juvenile Diabetes specifically. If you are a graphic designer, or even just someone who likes to make graphics from time to time, I've just handed you a niche to fill.

Three million Americans are affected by Juvenile Diabetes.. so why are we so quiet?!

WFMW: keeping track of post ideas

I've recently taken a little bloggy break, and during that time, I came up with a list of ideas for future blog posts. I made my list in the notepad here on my husband's laptop. It wasn't perfect, as about half the time I blog from our home computer, but I figured I could always email the list from the laptop to the home computer if needed. I kept the list going for days, coming up with all kinds of post ideas, but then... well... you guessed it, the list got deleted when the laptop's battery died. Ouch.

So, after some searching, I found a free online gadget called "my listy". It's now a gadget at the top of my iGoogle home page. (I've sung the praises of my iGoogle home page before... I'm especially fond of my Google calendar.) My listy allows me to keep a running list of anything I want, and you can add tabs with just one click to keep several lists going at once. It automatically saves everything, and it's accessable from any internet connection. It has a print feature, and apparently you can also access your lists via cell phone, which would be handy for a grocery or gift list- but I haven't tried that yet.

My listy... it definitely works for me!

No, this is not a paid endorsement, though I am open to accepting tips if you find it especially useful. ;)

Spring Reading Thing '09

Updated 5/17/09: If you subscribe to my blog and you're reading this in a feed, I apologize for the multiple bumps! I'm updating this post as I work my way through my Spring reading list.

I always have a stack of books on my nightstand that I plan to read. Always. At the moment, that stack has also migrated onto my dresser.... and that doesn't include my running list of books I want to read that I don't actually have in my possession yet. There simply aren't enough hours in the day for me to read as much as I'd like to!

For this year's Spring Reading Thing, I'm going to try and get through the books that I do have, as well as a few I'll be able to borrow from the library. Here's the list I'm hoping to read by the end of the Spring Reading Thing on June 20th:

• VOWS: The Story of a Priest, a Nun, and Their Son -- I'm about a third of the way through this true story- it's fascinating.
• The Maker's Diet -- I'm about halfway through this library book right now. It's a little extreme for me, but interesting. I finally returned this one to the library without finishing it-- it was not practical for my family.
• One For The Money- a friend loaned me this one. I started it a while back and then lost interest. I need to finish it and return it to her. Review scheduled for posting on 5/21/09.
• The Excellent Wife- I've had this one in my pile for a while now. It's one of those books that people often refer to, so I want to read it for myself.
• Just After Sunset: Stories - my sister got me this one for Christmas. It's been a long time since I've read any Stephen King, so I'm looking forward to it.
• My women's group at church is reading a book to discuss. I need to find my notes with the title and get a copy read by the end of April. This one was "Building Better Families". My review will appear here the evening of 5/17/09.
• Keeping House: The Litany of Everyday Life by Margaret Kim Peterson- another one that's been on the list a while... if I can get my hands on a copy, I'd love to read it.

Most of my books come from either the library or else PaperBackSwap . If you're not a member at PBS, check it out-- you pay postage to swap out your books, and then you earn a credit to have someone else ship a book of your choice to you. It's a great system for both clearing out clutter and getting new books to read!

7 Quick Takes: Back from Blogcation Edition

I'm back from my much needed blogging break... did you get my postcards? No? Hmmm... well... a monster must have eaten them. (Monsters are responsible for lots of things in our house lately!)

So, I'm back... and Seven Quick Takes is the perfect way to sum up the random thoughts I want to share today:

• 1.) I enjoyed not writing and just reading other blogs for a change. I discovered a couple of new-to-me blogs, and I cleaned up my reader, trimming some blogs that no longer held my interest.
• 2.) Since I have no other way to deliver this message, I'll put it out into cyberspace here. To the blond lady in the black car behind me this afternoon: I'm sorry that you felt I cut you off. It wasn't intentional. You tailgating me, blowing your horn and flashing your lights for the next mile, though? That was intentional. What did you want me to do-- pull over and beg your forgiveness?! Your rage and gestures made me literally laugh out loud, they were so over-the-top dramatic. (It helped that I drive an SUV that could easily squash that tiny car of yours.) I hope the rest of your day is better now that you've vented all that pent-up rage at my back bumper. Sheesh.
• 3.) My friend Sarah's daughter is getting ready to have surgery to remove her tonsils and adenoids. Please pray for healing, as Hannah has been sick almost constantly in recent months.
• 4.) My daughter turns six in a couple of weeks, and right now we are knee-deep in planning a Princess Party for her friends. This will be her first "kid party"- we've always just done family parties before this. I'm hoping that the crafts and homemade games will be enjoyed by all... some of the parties she's attended for friends from school this year have been big, expensive productions. That's not going to happen here!
• 5.) We had a guy come to appraise our house today as a part of the process in our refinancing our home. We're taking advantage of the great interest rates... anyone else? There's nothing like having a stranger walk through every room in your home to make you realize how much Spring cleaning you need to do!
• 6.) My two year-old got bitten near his eye by another child yesterday. He's fine, but seeing teeth marks on his face today is a little weird for me. His main comment on the incident is "she won't say sorry"... apparently he is more upset by her lack of apology than by the bite itself- LOL!
• 7.) Today is the kickoff of the annual Spring Reading Thing over at Callipidder Days. My to-read list always grows during this carnival. If you're a fellow reader, click over there and join in the fun!

Seven Quick Takes is hosted by one of my favorite bloggers, Jennifer, from Conversion Diary. Click on over there to join in the fun!

Blogoversary & Blog-o-vacation

Tiny Blessings turns two years old today... whoo hoo! If you were here I'd serve up some of my world-famous enchiladas and a giant bowl of salsa & chips.

As others before me have done, I'm taking my blogoversary as an opportunity to go ahead and open up the floor to your questions. Don't be shy, step up to the comment box and ask away. I'll answer your questions {subject to editing to compensate for my slight major paranoia about giving out too much personal info online} when I return from my bloggy vacation.

Oh, hey, wait, did I mention that I'm taking a bloggy vacation? Here, I'll use Holly's button and make it all official looking now:

(*Commercial break: Holly is not, sadly, someone I know IRL, but her blog is one of my favorites...go check it out if you're not already familiar with June Cleaver Nirvana!)

My real-world life is still a rather topsy-turvy after our recent crazy schedule changes, and I've got my hands full just keeping up with the people and things that need my attention here outside of blog-land. I haven't written much of anything lately, and my reader currently has 315 posts waiting to be read. Yikes.

I'll be around, just not posting for a week or so... long enough for me to feel like things are under control again in my world. See you soon!

Sunday Scrappin'

TA DA's: I'm finally sharing a pic of the cover I did for my personal planner... though, for the record, it's still a work in progress! (I still want to do something with the divider tabs.) Right now, it's basically a piece of one of my favorite DPs decorated with some eyelets and brads. Originally I had tied numerous ribbon pieces down the spine, but I decided that look really didn't work on this particular book. I also made a coordinating RSVP pen to match.

I spent most of yesterday at my parents' house with my sisters, making baby shower invitations for another sister. I designed them, and we all sat around stamping and folding them. They're not completely finished yet- they still need ribbon across the front, and the information cards have to be finished once we get a confirmation on our location. Hopefully we'll get these out by the end of the week, though.

TO DO's: Finish those baby shower invitations!

If you do any sort of paper crafts, I hope you'll join us at Sunday Scrappin'!

New Routines

So much for my big idea of doing NaBloPoMo this month. I'll still be posting on the topic of "giving (up)"... I'm just not going to kid myself into thinking that it will happen daily. It's been all I can do this week to get online to check my email and Facebook- forget about any real blogging time!

The week was a blur-- DH and I both changed our work schedules after working the same schedules for the last three years. We had things worked out as far as shuffling kids around and who took them where on what days. I had my home routines down-- menus and coupons on Sundays, shopping on Mondays, laundry on Tuesdays, and then I worked Wednesday through Friday. Now? I'll be working Sunday evenings, Monday, and Thursdays... which is just enough to throw my regular routines completely out of whack. I didn't realize how dependant I was on those routines until this past week, when I kept having to check the calendar to see not only what was happening, but also what day it was!

Hopefully in another week we'll have worked out the kinks and our new schedule will flow just as easily as the old one... please just bear with me in the meantime! :)

P.S. I'm more dependant than ever on my handy dandy personal planner, and I finally got around to altering the cover recently. Check out my Sunday Scrappin post (the post after this one) to see the results!

The Gift of Hope- check out the story

My friend Matt recently shared this story on Facebook, and he hit the nail on the head when he said "Go ahead, try not to cry."

Hogan said, "Imagine if you didn't have a home life. Imagine if everybody had pretty much given up on you. Now imagine what it would mean for hundreds of people to suddenly believe in you."

Check out what happened HERE... and have your tissues ready!

Yikes... I blew it already!

Well, so much for that big idea, LOL! Or maybe I should post about giving up blog posts?

Yesterday was just an off day for me~ we're completely out of our normal routine here at home. DH and I are both changing our long-standing work schedules this week. (I work part-time, he works full-time, and we juggle the kids in between to use babysitters as little as possible.) So, with my mind elsewhere, trying to remember who is working what day and what hours, I completely forgot about the post-a-day thing. ::sigh:: Oh well. I'll see if I can manage to post daily for the rest of the month... right now, I'm off to work! :)

Deal Alert: All You Subscription

If you've been considering subscribing to All You magazine, now's the time!

Remember a while back when I won a free $20 Amazon gift card? Well, I've been holding on to it, waiting for a good deal. I finally decided that a subscription to All You magazine would be a great use of the card, since I wind up buying it every month for the special coupons inside.

So, I finally went to Amazon today to purchase it, and look what I found:

Purchase this magazine during the month of March, and you'll get a $5 gift certificate good on a future order on Amazon.com. The value will be placed in your account as soon as the magazine has been processed which should be within one week of purchase. Here's how (restrictions apply).

So, I spent my free gift card to get a magazine that I enjoy... and, I'm getting another free $5 on top of that, just because I held onto my gift card and waited for the right time to order. That's my kind of deal! :)

If you're not familiar with this great magazine, check it out. $15 for a full year of All You is a great price!

March NaBloPoMo: GIVING (UP)

I'd been thinking about trying the NaBloPoMo challenge again... that's where you post every single day for a month straight. Then I saw this month's (optional) theme, and it's just calling my name:

The theme for March blogging is GIVING (UP). If you choose to blog on the theme, you can write about what you give to your friends, your job, your world, or yourself every day. That "up" in parentheses gives you the option to also write about things you're throwing out, quitting, recycling, or eliminating from your life right now.

I've been enjoying posts like this one by Michelle at Leaving Excess, sharing all the things she let go of in February. I was toying with doing something similar myself, then the NaBloPoMo theme came along... and, as they say, the rest is history.

Stay tuned for more posts on what I'm giving up, as well as plenty of my usual frugal finds and crafty creations. I'll do my best to post every single day in March... care to join me for NaBloPoMo?